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Renewable Energy

About Our Renewable Energy Work: Energy use—including electricity, transportation, and heating—is the most significant source of the pollution that is changing our climate and causing smog, acid rain, toxic mercury pollution, and other serious environmental problems. Environmental Advocates of New York’s Air & Energy Program is focused on reducing air pollution and promoting the clean technologies that will set New York on the path to a safe and sustainable energy future.

Our work includes promoting policies that will improve air quality and reduce global warming pollution, as well as supporting New York’s efforts to increase energy efficiency and conservation and accelerate clean energy development.

Ford Motor Company has lent Environmental Advocates a 2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid car; the company knows the electric car industry has some misconceptions about the reliability of hybrids to fix, and that as a climate leader, that we understand the importance of transitioning away from dirty fossil fuels of the past by modernizing our transportation practices with vehicles powered by clean energy, which don’t spew emissions that make people sick or contribute to a changing climate.

December 1st, marked the end of the public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan aimed at cutting carbon pollution from power plants.

Would you like some fossil fuels with your fossil fuels? How about some diesel on the side along with that fracking fluid toxic cocktail? Yes, you read that correctly. I bet you didn’t know that diesel is yet another chemical additive injected into the ground by fracking companies.

Climate pollution is a having a major impact on our economy, public health and environment. Poor air quality is making our children sick. Rising temperatures, prolonged heat waves and severe storms are costing our economy billions in lost production and infrastructure and property damage. In directing the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move forward with the Clean Power Plan, President Obama has demonstrated the leadership needed to finally address one of the root causes of our changing climate.

If you believe New York should be a clean energy leader, and that our government must prioritize the public good over Big Oil and fracker greed, sign onto our comments urging Governor Cuomo to use his soon-to-be-finalized State Energy Plan to fight climate change and move New York away from dirty fossil fuels of the past!

This week, Governor Cuomo signed into law legislation that opens the door to low-cost financing for renewable energy systems through the Green Jobs – Green New York program. The measure will expand the state’s innovative energy efficiency building retrofit program to include funding for solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, hydro-electric generators and fuel cells.

Over the last decade New York has invested over a billion dollars in its clean energy and climate action programs. To take these investments a step further and ensure money is making a difference, in his 2013 State of the State Address, Governor Cuomo announced a brand new $1 billion Green Bank initiative to be led by energy finance expert, and now chief energy policy advisor, Richard Kauffman.

The City of Oberlin, Ohio is the home of a revolution for environmentalists and citizens everywhere. You can now visit a website and see the city’s energy and water consumption habits in real time, and even zoom down to municipal buildings. Interested or concerned taxpayers, for example, can soon be able to check to see whether the Mayor left the lights on overnight. Business can run friendly competitions with each other over who is greenest, and all this information is updated in real-time and as available as if you were friends with the city on Facebook.